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Chapter 13 - Quinn
Autumn is beautiful in this area. I have always dreamed of raising my family and living out my life here. Still, sometimes, the dreams we have as children can never be realized because of adult issues. It was so simple back then. Maddie lives in a world full of life and possibility, and I know one day she will grow up and need to deal with adult problems, but not today. I will do everything I can to give her as safe a life as I possibly can.
After putting Maddie down early for her nap, I get to work putting my plan into motion before Eli comes home. He left earlier in the day to deal with the pack business. I know he could tell I was distracted, but he didn’t say anything; he just kissed Maddie and me on the cheek and said he would be back a bit before supper, which means I have limited time to work with. I know Eli wants to handle this. Heck, I would love to relinquish control and let him solve it, but I can't. We may have been growing closer together, rebuilding that trust, but it still comes down to protecting my daughter, and no matter what, a mother will always protect her child. I know that my plan will work, and if I do it properly, this could solve the feud between the Twilight Meadows pack and the Clearwater pack. Yesterday, I called my old friend Melissa to get Jake’s number. The conversation was awkward at first, but Melissa has always seen the truth of Jake's behavior while others bury their heads in the sand. But, like me, she doesn't have many options, and after I explained what was happening, she was more than happy to help me out. In order to set my plan in motion, I need to call Jake; he is such an egotistical ass that he will most likely think he has won when I call him. Let’s hope he shares more of his plans with me over the phone. My palms sweat as I open my phone and bring his number up on the screen. I set the call up for recording and then push his number, letting it ring.
“Jake Griswold.”
“Hello, Jake.” A moment of silence passes before he speaks again.
“Well, if it isn’t the prodigal daughter. It’s been a long time; what's it been, three years?”
“Not long enough, I’m afraid.”
“Now, is that any way to talk to your Alpha?”
“You are not my Alpha.”
His snarl runs down the line, sending chills across my skin. “You always were an ungrateful brat. You could have been Luna, but instead you threw it all away, for what, a child?” he sighs. “I would have been a good mate, but now—now you will just have to deal with existing. Whether you want to believe it or not, you are mine, Quinn. No matter, that will all change soon.”
“I heard you were looking for me.”
“You heard correctly; now, why don’t you come over here, and we can talk like civilized people.”
“What do you want, Jake?”
“I see the years have not done you any favors. You, Quinn, I want you, and I always get what I want.” He wants access to my abilities, not me.
“Why?”
“Is this some sort of twenty questions?! You better get over that quick; I don’t take too kindly to being questioned, or have you forgotten that?”
Images of Jake publicly punishing my old pack mates flood my mind. “That's been apparent by all the abuse you’ve doled out over the years.”
“You know, I doubt it will take long for me to break you and make a much more pliable mate. Though maybe I don't need to make you my mate after all; perhaps prisoner is a more fitting title.”
My heart is beating so fast as his threat hangs in the air. “What if I say I won’t come to you?”
“Well, that would make this far more difficult, but I have always been up for a challenge. Let me make this clear, Quinn. I know where you are. In that nice house a couple miles from the pack house, living with Eli Vale. Playing in the backyard with that pup of yours. Do you think being with Eli will stop me from taking what is mine? That pathetic excuse of an Alpha has no chance against me, and he doesn’t even know it. As he has been trying to get information on me, I have someone who has turned in his pack, spilling all his little secrets, the arrogant prick.” Is he saying there is a traitor in the pack? Who would be so stupid as to give Jake any information? Plus, I thought everyone in this pack hated Clearwater pack members.
“I know about your daughter, Quinn.” Maddie’s sleeping face comes to mind. Her innocent little being safely tucked in upstairs. “Let’s just say if you come quietly, I won’t resort to…drastic measures.”
“What does that mean?”
“Do you need me to spell it out for you?”
“Ideally, yes.”
“Listen, Quinn. Either you come here willingly, or I will destroy everyone in Pack Twilight Meadows to get to you. No one will be safe, not even your daughter. I will let all this go if you come willingly and submit to me as your mate or your captor; it's up to you.” I don't miss the command in his voice, and the vision from yesterday swirls around in my head. He means every word he says, though I am not surprised; it still shocks me that this is where I am right now. Why couldn't he forget about me? I'm sure there is some sort of psychological explanation for it, but I don't know it. It doesn’t matter anyway; in order to protect my daughter, I need to do this.
“Aren’t you concerned about what will happen when the council hears about this? Eli’s not going to just let you get away with this, either; if I come to you, it could turn into a war between the packs.”
“Let them come. I’m not afraid of the council or Eli Vale. Besides, the council has never actually stepped in before; they won't do it now, either. Their stupid attempt at a peace treaty between us was pathetic. The council wants us to go against our very nature. We are wolves fighting for our place, and territory is in our blood; they want us to act like pathetic humans and ‘talk it out.’ That’s not how things work, and hasn’t worked for centuries. So, if I need to make a statement by bringing war to Eli and the council, I will.” He is delusional, utterly delusional. His pack isn’t big enough to take on Eli’s pack, let alone the council. They have special teams to put down rogue wolves and rogue packs. They want our race to stay under the human radar, not cause a scene and draw attention to ourselves. What Jake is suggesting can't be hidden from the human world, and if there is anything shifters hate, it's attention from the human world.
“If I come to you…willingly…you’ll leave my daughter alone?”
“Of course. I never wanted your contaminated brat anyways, but if you so much as think about betraying me, I have no problem using her against you.”
I believe every word he says. Using an innocent life to get what he wants has never bothered him. How he has survived this long is mind-boggling.
